S'pore needs to strengthen civil defence: Lawrence Wong

SINGAPORE: Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong said the commuting public, public transport operators and key government agencies should work on strengthening civil defence to manage crises similar to this week's breakdown in MRT services. Writing on Facebook on Sunday, Mr Wong said he's glad that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has convened a public inquiry on the train breakdowns, like what was done previously for the Nicoll Highway incident. He said the authorities and operators really need to get to the bottom of the problem, resolve the issues, reinforce the network and restore confidence in the train system. At the same time, they should improve their capabilities to respond to such emergencies. Mr Wong said SMRT as a train operator needs to do this gently, but everyone can also do his part. Quoting a newspaper reader, he said that while transport...